When will the negotiations between GERB-UDF and WCC-DB start?

Both GERB-UDF and We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (WCC-DB) teams said they were ready for the talks to start as soon as possible. According to Assen Vassilev, they will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. GERB put on the table a coalition agreement proposal that should turn the ‘assemblage’ into a coalition.

How much time will they have depends on the pace of the constitutional procedure for forming a new government? The leading political figure in the procedure is the President. He has not yet scheduled the consultations with the parliamentary parties.

Talks between GERB-UDF and WCC-DB on the possible signing of a joint governing document have not yet begun. This is expected to happen at the end of the week. The head of state's press secretariat said that President Rumen Radev will inform in due course when consultations with the parliamentary political forces will begin before handing over the first exploratory mandate for forming a government.

Talks between the two coalitions cannot start without GERB-UDF chief negotiator Mariya Gabriel, who is at an EPP forum in Bucharest, the largest political force in Parliament said.

"Negotiations can start at the first possible moment, namely when the negotiating team on our side is in full composition and the colleagues from WCC-DB express readiness for the negotiations to start," said the deputy chairwoman of GERB-UDF group, Temenuzhka Petkova.

WCC-DB called on everyone to sit together at the negotiating table at the earliest opportunity.

"Yes, we understand that our partners from GERB - UDF disagree with some of the texts in our memorandum, and we also disagree with some of their proposals, so let's when they come back from Bucharest, Mr Borissov, Ms Gabriel, we publicly invite them, to sit this weekend at the negotiating table. And it would be good for Mr Borissov to come, as the head of his ladies' troop", explained the co-chair of the WCC-DB group Atanas Atanasov.

And while the parliament extended invitations, Finance Minister Asen Vassilev was quite specific.

"We have scheduled talks with Ms Gabriel for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, so we hope to be able to reach an agreement in this order," Finance Minister, Assen Vassilev, clarified.

Vassilev expects the adjustments in the composition of the government to be minimal.

"My personal expectations are that there will be very small changes. - Two or three? - Maximum," Vassilev further commented.

Parliament Speaker, Rosen Zhelyazkov, said he would move forward the accepted resignation to the presidential institution today, March 6.

"From this point on, the President sets all the timing," Parliament Speaker, Rosen Zhelyazkov, stressed.

After receiving the resignation, the head of state will hold consultations with the parliamentary political forces before handing over the first exploratory mandate. The constitution does not specify in what timeframe the consultations should be held. And this means that from now on, it is up to the President how much time he will give to GERB-UDF and WCC-DB to decide where the country will go - towards rotation or towards snap parliamentary elections.